 Hi, Longmont. My name is Karen Stallard. I'm the membership director with the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce. The Longmont Chamber has been working hard to support our local businesses and connect the community during this challenging time because we don't think that being physically distanced means that we can't still socially connect and support one another. So I'd like to tag in Jessica Wanasek, the Chamber Event Director, to tell you a little bit about what we've been up to. Hey, everyone. So the Longmont Chamber of Commerce has been hosting daily Facebook Live events Monday through Friday at 4 p.m. over on our Chamber Facebook page. We are featuring a local business or a nonprofit while having fun interactive activities, giveaways, and just connecting with our community. We wanted to share the fun with you after the facts, so we are airing all of our episodes from last week with you here now so you can enjoy. And we hope that you see some familiar faces from around Longmont. And remember, if you ever want to see the live thing, just tune into the Chamber Facebook page at 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Or check out a themed list of businesses over on our Chamber website, www.longmontchamber.org, forward slash llama is open. And find a business that you would like to support. Enjoy the show. Hi, everybody. And welcome, welcome, welcome. Come on in. We're just going to give it a second or two and let our audience build. Come in and get a comfy seat for today's episode of Days of Our Lives. I mean another episode of We Shop Wednesdays. That's right. We are back for our second week of our Longmont is open for business, kind of our live events that we're doing every day. So we're well into our second week, which is is so fun. And we're hoping that you guys are enjoying watching our content as well. So we're going to let a few people come on in. I'm starting to see a few little faces popping in there. So as you come in, comment, say hello, let us know that you are here. It's hard for us to know that you guys are here unless you're liking or commenting or saying hi, asking questions, all that good stuff. So as you come in, comment, let us know you're here. Give us some love, some the likes and hearts and all that. We love to see that. Let's see. What to tell you? What to tell you? So like I said, we're well into our second week. My name is Jessica Wanasek. I am the event director over at the Longmont Chamber of Commerce. We are, this is our second. We shop Wednesday. It's our live events that we are doing at 4 p.m. every day for as long as they're needed. So we are enjoying this. We love doing this. We're having a good time highlighting all of those businesses out there who have had to pivot and change the way that they are running their operations during this crazy time. So we are super honored to be able to be doing this and highlighting those hardworking businesses out there in Longmont and giving you the audience a little glimpse into what it is that they're doing for you. So we're happy that you're here. So we're starting to see a few likes and comments. You guys say hi. I don't see anybody out there. I see faces. I see little eyeballs, but no comments. Hi, Nikki. Good to see you. Glad you're here. Okay, so one lucky winner is going to be picked from today's comments. There's going to be a little bit of a quiz towards the end of the live stream. So you're going to want to stick around for that. I have a very exciting special guest to introduce to you today and she is actually going to be helping with a really cool prize that she's given away today. So hi, Karen. Yes, it's pink. We wear pink on Wednesdays. Come on. All right. So with that, I would like to introduce our special guest today. I'd like to introduce you to her name is Rachel Hunter and she is with a florae in Longmont. So say hi, Rachel. Hello there. Hello there. Thank you. Welcome. Oh, I love it. Love it. Super excited to have you on today. Love it. Love it. We're so happy to be here. Thank you so much for the opportunity. We are completely honored to have you on here. So I like to kind of let the audience know a little bit about you. Some people may know you and where you're located and all that, but Cher, how long have you guys been open for business? We have been a wedding florist in Longmont, actually 10 years now. July 1st will be 10, excuse me, September of this year will be 10 years. But we moved into this space, which is at 931 Main Street. It is right next door to Dutch Brothers Coffee, which you can't miss that. You also can't miss the flower mural on the side of our building to find us. But we've been here for four years and have within the last year and a half redone this the retail aspect of the store. So I'm super excited about where the store is at. And today, actually oddly, perfectly, actually, we are unloading a ton of boxes of all brand new products to get into the store for spring apparel, as well as different home decor. Super cool. Super cool. Okay, so where can you give your address again? It's 9th and Main? It's between 9th and 10th on the west side of the street. But the address is 931 Main Street. Okay, cool. Cool, cool, cool. Thanks for sharing that. So I like to ask businesses, you know, we're doing this for you guys to help show the audience how you guys are running your operations during this time. We know that, you know, things things are a little topsy turvy. So can you share with the audience what that looks like for you now? Absolutely. We are now back to fully being open to actually come in. Prior to this, we did curbside drop off deliveries with masks and gloves, which we will continue to be masks doing deliveries, but you are now fully welcome into the space. We of course will abide by the mandatory masks starting May 9th, as well, with us having them and required to come in. But you definitely are welcome to come in, have read on the bathroom, try on the clothes, we wanted to be a really great experience for you coming in. But as far as how it's been for us, we did close for part of April, and then reopened May 1st and we're back to full production. The only thing I'm a little bit behind on is getting the store to be online, which is exciting. That will present a lot of opportunity to even outside the state to order. But that's really the only thing left to do. But other than that, we've got all the new products in to restock and we are a full service flower shop. So you can walk in and grab flowers. We can quickly arrange them for you. We will oftentimes have pre-made grab and go flowers as well. And then we of course deliver. We deliver to Firestone, Erie, North parts of Boulder, Gun barrel and Longmont. We eventually will probably extend to Lafayette, but not yet. But yeah, I want to mention one thing about our retail flowers, because it's really important to me. And it also is not only mainly because it's important, but I think it sets us apart as well from other areas that you can buy flowers, which of course we would hope you support everywhere. But the nice thing about us is all retail flowers will, once the farms are fully ready, they are going to be entirely arranged with local flower farms surrounding Longmont. So the difference is most flowers that you get in grocery stores or bigger flower shops are coming from markets, which flower markets, which means they're coming in from California, Hawaii all over, which is really great because you can get flowers, you can't get in the state. However, we have the opportunity to have a lot at our fingertips because there happens to be nine flower farms that surround my flower shop within a 50 mile radius. So moving forward, we're going to treat market flowers for weddings when we need specific flowers, but for retail flowers, we will definitely be buying from specifically and strictly the flower farms. We want to be able to support them and not only that, the quality is like amazing. You're getting top-notch quality because they're literally cutting it when I show up, putting it in a bucket and coming back to it. So there's no shipping costs or shipping wear and tear on the flowers, which is going to of course make them last longer. Oh, super cool. Yeah, I'm kind of a flower now. I love to have any excuse to have, you know, cut flowers on my counter. So you have won me over, so I'm on my way. Well, it's really been beautiful that they have considered any floral culture to be essential, because honestly, if it's just as important to get outside in nature and feel the sun and give us the trees, it's equally as important to actually bring that into your home. So we're happy that we have that field in the industry to provide that for you. Absolutely. Well, we love it. And that's another reason why I'm super excited to be able to kind of showcase you guys today. So thank you. Cool. Well, I can't believe that we are into May and May, you know, we know the little bit, May comes flowers, but there's also Mother's Day. So we, we initially, we wanted to do some sort of like a floral arrangement for Mother's Day. But we kind of shifted gears a little bit because I heard from a good source that you have some really cool items in the front part of your store. So in a minute, I want you to take us on a little tour and show us some of your goodies there. But we are getting a few questions in the comments regarding flowers for Mother's Day. So Nikki is asking, are you still taking orders for Mother's Day? Yes. And we will be as best as we can taking them all the way up until Sunday. I actually purchased all the, I'm getting all the flowers tomorrow and most likely we'll potentially have to go back again on Friday. But we are, because we are not fully online yet in the future, you will definitely be able to go online and just simply type in the order. But for now, the three ways to go about placing an order with us is either one phone call, which is 720-318-7327, or you could go to our business Instagram page, which is the app sign A underscore flora, which is S-L-O-R-A-E, excuse me. And then otherwise just the website, you'll find a contact page where you can enter in information for an order that way. Right. It's, in my opinion, best to just simply call, then we can have a discussion about what it is that you want, if there's anything particular, what we're doing a lot of, or getting a lot of order-wise is just mixed spring bouquets that are a variety of different colors. But to be able to call is kind of nice. If you have any questions for me, I can just immediately answer them for you. Perfect. Perfect. And we'll have you give the phone number again, and we'll try and get some of that information in the comments as well here before the end of the stream. So you guys hang in there for that. So let's go. I'm actually going to turn this over to you, Rachel, and you are going to take us on a little tour of your shop. Okay. And it's all yours. I'm going to actually walk outside the door and tour you as if you were walking in for the first time. Okay. So again, our neighbors are Dutch Brothers Coffee. They're really, really amazing. Or you can just find us by the big red building. Okay. So as far as plants go, we always have a wide variety of plants in here, but they are strictly indoor plants. We don't have the space to have outdoor, but we have so many fun indoor plants that you can mix and match with different pots. We're happy to pot them for you here for no charge. That's cool. We carry a ton of clothing. Our long sleeve clothing, just to let you viewers know, all the long sleeve that we currently have are 40% off through the rest of the week. And then we will be putting all the new spring items out as well. So we sell a ton of jewelry, a lot of local artisans, and then some from California. We have a small kids section here, which we're unpacking new t-shirts in the back. And then over here, you're always going to find a different ton of different selections of pots both here and then also underneath the middle table. That's my sweetheart, Bluebell. To say hi. We have some cute little bralettes. And then as far as cards go, we have a really funny selection of cards here. So I find it a lot of fun that people find our cards to be really entertaining. So our most popular item in the entire store that flies off the shelves are these candles. Two different lines, but they have amazing scents. Great fruit mint and tobacco vanilla are by far the most popular. And yeah, it's a home store clothing store and plant and flower shop. So we are a full service flower shop, but of course now have this added on retail. Oh, that's very close. So we're getting a few comments as you were showing things around. Holly Glesner says she's never been to your shop before, but it looks great. And she says also she is in love with your pottery. Thank you. And we some of the pottery comes from California. And then we also have in the works actual like Colorado artisans making some pots for us currently. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. The fun part is that you get a mix and match however you see fit. And then we have a station in the back to help pot if it's easiest for for you. Nice. And you said you can repot plants at no charge. Is that what you said? Yes, we'll do the potting for you. Oh, that's cool. And I'm going to walk you to the back really quick to show our workstation and also to introduce you to Mackenzie. She is my partner in crime basically, you know, workwifes way I like. Love it. Actually in the head of the plant aspect. So if any of you ever come in here, I have any questions myself or Mackenzie or more than happy to help. But she's I just like to admit more knowledgeable than me. Okay, so this is the area that we're getting there. It's it's we've got a lot of stuff to move around new tables and whatnot. But we have our consultations here. And then the work area back here that white wall is actually hiding the cooler. So we keep all of our flowers in there. And I wanted to make mention sometimes when you come in here, you might not see the cut flowers or the local flowers to just come and pick. That's just because they're in the cooler because we only have so much space. And the longer they're in the cooler, the longer life you're going to get after you. Yeah. Oh, good to know. Don't hesitate to ask when you come in here, if you're wanting flowers and you're not seeing them, they're going to be in the back. Okay, good to know. So there we go. This is Mackenzie. Hi, Mackenzie. Okay, we've got a ton of actual related items that we are restocking specifically for Sunday or any day leading up to it, which have to do with woman inspired woman supporting type of messages, if you will, to the to the t-shirts. So for example, you need to remind your kids to love your mother or like mother's little, little helper. We have pretty powerful both in kids and in adult or things like that same mama bird. Some of my favorite exciting things to come in are the toddler baby. I don't know for clothing, these are all just different head wraps. And then these are, for example, like bloomers. I don't have children, but these clothes make me want to adopt one. So we will add a number to a floor because of the clothing. This shirt has already sold before we've even put it out because I made a post about it, but it's amazing. Oh my God, I love it. We all agree with that, right? And then new jewelry. These are fun tassels that are like can be window decor or they're actually meant for super fun baskets. We're going to be hanging some of these in our windows. And we also have a lot of different baskets that can be used at farmers markets. Obviously, if you ever go to the beach ever again, you can take it there. And this product line I am absolutely psyched on because I had bought something from them just in another store once and then asked if I could get an account with them. They're out of Oaxaca, Mexico. They keep women employed and these women are incredible, not one. Yes, you'll have similar patterns, but they're all cut from different style rugs. But the best is just simply how they feel. It's such amazing, amazing quality. And they range anywhere from big bags like this to purse sizes to then travel totes. I have a couple of these that I'm completely upset. I want that big bag right there that you're showing. Is that pink? Oh, they're so, so, so great. I want that one right there. Do that. I can mention as well that the majority of our store is about $65 and under. We have some select items, whether it's bags or bigger pottery that might be above that. But as far as the average price point, we are about a store with $65 and under, which it's important to me as well because we're, especially, I mean, it was like that before the times now, but now with the times like we're not trying to break your bank, we really just want to give you a good experience with shopping and give you really good quality items in here that don't have to be crazy expensive. No, I think that's the perfect price point. That's awesome. Thank you. Good to know. I'm Sharon. There's a few other comments that came in. Melanie says, I love your aesthetic. So glad to know you're there. So that's pretty cool. Thank you. I appreciate that. And Karen, my partner in crime, Karen over at the chamber, she says, for years, your ribbon cutting was just yesterday, she says. And this place is very much different looking than that ribbon cutting. But we do a while because it can be interesting with retail. You really want to be able to please a lot and cater to a lot. But when you only have so much room, it took a lot of like back and forth, flipping around, but we've gotten it to a really, really great spot in my opinion. And we actually helped with We dropped out too. And people are more than welcome to take pictures and send pictures via Instagram or email of their plants. If they have any questions about that, is this a good place? Is it getting enough light? We're super, we treat everybody like they're our best friends. So please take advantage of reaching out to us. We're more than happy to help. Oh, that's super cool. I'm just amazed that all the different, you know, here I was thinking you were just a floral shop. I'm actually kind of floored of all of the really cool products and stuff that are out there and perfect timing for, you know, Mother's Day coming up this weekend too, which is Thank you. sneaking up on us. It's great. And I'm actually either a hot item as well. It's a bunch of different prints that are in this kind of color palette. But these have been super, super exciting new addition that people are loving as well. So we do have some selection of wall art. Wow. You're like a Rachel of all trades over there. Pretty cool. Pretty cool. Well, for those of you guys who are coming on, hopefully you get to see the little tour that Rachel just did for us. If you're here, say something to us in the comments. If you have a question for Rachel, throw that in the comments as well. We're going to be here for just a few more minutes, but we wanted to, you know, offer that opportunity. If you have a question for her, fire away. We'll relay that on to her. Let's see, Rachel here in a few minutes, I guess, or a few seconds. We I'm going to have you help me with today's daily giveaway or our drawing. So I'm thinking of a question to give the audience that are that are checking this out today, something that we just spoke about maybe right when you started your little tour. And you and I know the answer to it, but we're going to we're going to throw it out to the audience and see if they know it as well. So I see you people out there on comment. Say hi. Let Rachel know that you're here. Okay. So the question that I am thinking of is Rachel shared with us, the audience, as we as she was starting her tour, she offers a service for free. It's a no charge service. And it has to do with something green. Right? Does I don't want to give it away if I say it, it's going to be give it away. So something green and she does something to that something green for no charge. How's that? So the first one to put the answer in the comments will get a super cool prize. And Rachel, do you want to share what that prize is today? Yeah, it's a $50 gift card to spend however you wish in the store. And the like I said, we you could be if you came in this weekend or the following week, you'd be one of the first to see all the new items, both in spring clothes and children's items, accessories, things of that nature, then then people have seen yet. So you can have first steps if you wanted. Super cool. Okay. So we had we had somebody come in with the correct answer. I feel like we need like a drum roll machine, but it looks like there you go. Melanie. And I know I'm going to butcher your last name Melanie is a heckleman Piazza, which potting plants was the correct answer, right, Rachel? Yes, it is. Yay. And we had Holly came in a really quick second. So you guys were like neck and neck there. So next time Holly, join us and maybe you can win something too. So Melanie, I need you to email me so that we can get you that gift card. So email me at Jay Wanasek at longmontchamber.org. And we'll get that gift certificate over to you. And thank you for playing. That was awesome. So anything else, Rachel, that you feel that the audience needs to know about you about your services that we haven't covered yet? Well, I do want to mention the store hours. So oftentimes you'll find flower shops closed on Mondays and that's the same with us, but we are also closed Tuesdays. So our days of operation that are open are Wednesday to Sunday closed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, we are 10 to 530 Saturday, Sundays, we are 11 to 3. Awesome. And give me, let's do your phone number again just so I can put it in the comments here. Okay, 720-318-7327. Okay, that way everybody can, I'll have it in the comments there. They can buzz you if they need to order flowers and all that. I just want to make sure that we're not missing anybody's last minute questions. Sometimes they sneak in right at the end here. Well, anyway, with that, Rachel, I want to thank you for taking time out. I know you are crazy busy. You are a crazy busy girl today. I've really enjoyed getting to know you and I hope that the Longmont audience out there who is watching got to know you a little bit and will come check out your store now or place an order for flowers and all that stuff. So I really want to thank you for taking the time out. Go see her on her Instagram, go check her out on her website. The website is AFLORE and it's spelled A-F-L-O-R-A-E dot com or give her a call 720-318-7327. With that, Rachel, I am going to give you big loves and kisses. Thank you so much for being on today. My pleasure. Thank you for having me. And we will talk to you soon. Awesome. Thank you so much. Why? Thank you. She was super cool. I have enjoyed getting to know her and I love actually doing this part of my job because I am a people person and I am missing this one-on-one connection or the connection with just people. So I'm really appreciative of all the businesses who are taking part in what we are doing with these live events. If you have a business and you want to be featured on one of these, reach out to me at jwanasek at longmontchamber.org and we will see about getting you scheduled for one of these live events. We also want to let you guys know too, if you are curious about those businesses again around the Longmont area who are open in one way or another, go to the Longmont Chamber website and you can reach that at www.longmontchamber.org forward slash longmont is open. So go check those out. There's a ton of businesses in Longmont and we're going to try and put the spotlight on as many of them as we can. So with that, I am going to sign off this Wednesday We Shop. Next Wednesday, make sure to wear your pink and join us right back here for that. Tomorrow we have a really exciting Thankful Thursday episode and you're going to want to come back here right back here on the Chamber Facebook page at 4 p.m. We're going to highlight a very special local non-profit who's doing some amazing things around town and they're also giving away another really cool prize. So thanks again for tuning in. We love you guys. Hang out, hang in there Longmonsters and we will see you soon. Bye bye. Be well.